· Over 426 kidnapped in two weeks
· Over 25 killed
· 50 students escape, 38 church goers released
· FG, Northern states shutdown schools
· PDP calls on president to resign
By Godfrey AKON and Laraba MUREY
Nigeria has faced a tough past one week with kidnappings and killings on a free reign as the Government of President Bola Tinubu seems overwhelmed as it finds answers to worsening insecurity.
Analysis by The Abuja Inquirer of abductions and killings over the past one week reveals a troubling spectre and adds to the growing uncertainty amongst Nigerians.
First was the tragic killing of Brigadier General Musa Uba and three of his men abducted and publicly executed by Islamist terrorists in Borno state last Friday.
Uba was the commander of the 25 Brigade in Damboa, Borno State, who alongside his troops was ambushed, captured, and executed by the terrorists.
On Saturday, November 15, bandits killed three persons and abducted at least 64 others at Fegin Baza village in Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State.
Children and women were among the abductees taken to an unknown destination and are yet to be rescued.
As if that was not enough, 25 female students and their principal were abducted from their school in Maga, Kebbi state penultimate Sunday, November 16 by Islamist terrorists whilst their vice principal was killed.
As the country was coming to terms with the Kebbi attack, 38 worshippers were abducted from Christ Apostolic Church, CAC, in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State last Tuesday.
In the attack, 38 worshippers were abducted, and two others killed.
The kidnappers have since requested for a ransom of N3.8bn at N100m apiece for the 38 abductees.
On Wednesday, November 19, suspected members of the Islamic State West African Province, ISWAP, killed a police officer during an attack on a police outpost in Geidam Local Government Area of Yobe State and made away with a patrol van.
Same that Wednesday, 8 members of the Civilian Task Force were killed and three abducted by the Islamists in Gwoza, Borno.
This was followed by another 15 people abducted, including 4 nursing mothers and babies, and two killed in Sabon Birni, Sokoto state on that same day,
In their continuation of terror, four rice farmers were killed in an attack in by Islamist terrorists in Edu, Kwara state yet on Wednesday.
The grand happening of the week was the abduction of over 300 pupils and students of St. Mary’s Secondary and Primary School, Papiri in Agwara, Niger state.
Some cheer was reported on Sunday by Daniel Atori, who disclosed that 50 pupils escaped on Saturday and have been reunited with their families.
Atori is aide to the Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Niger State, Most Rev. Bulus Dauwa Yohanna, who is also the proprietor of St Mary’s.
“This is to notify the public that as of Sunday, 23rd November 2025, we have received some good news as fifty (50) pupils escaped and have reunited with their parents,” the statement read.
Also, the 38 abductees of the CAC, Eruku, in Ekiti Local Government Area of Kwara State, regained their freedom on Sunday the state government disclosed.
The abductees were freed on Sunday, November 23.
Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq confirmed the development in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, describing the release as the outcome of “many days of hard work” by security agencies and government officials.
On Saturday, the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, disclosed that “In keeping with our mandate of protecting Nigerians, a combined team of Rapid Response Squad (RRS), Police Mobile Force (PMF), and State Intelligence Department (SID) embarked on a visibility patrol earlier today to boost the confidence of locals in Sabon Sara Village, Bauchi State. Sadly, the team came under attack, leading to the loss of two police officers and injury to one other.”
In what has become a recurring decimal, on Sunday, the Deputy Speaker of Borno State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Abdullahi Askira, confirmed the abduction of 13 female teenagers in Mussa district in Askira-Uba local government area of Borno State.
Abdullahi, who represents Askira-Uba constituency, said the 13 abductees who were between the ages of 15 and 20 years went to their farmland in Mussa farming area to harvest their crops when the assailants took them away.
He said, “The victims are among those relocated to a relatively peaceful community of Mussa to earn means of their livelihoods through joint community farming.
“One of the victims managed to escape and had been reunited with her family on Sunday morning.
“But, the other 12 victims, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20 years, are still in the custody of the abductors whose whereabouts remain unknown.”
Following the development, tertiary and secondary schools have shutdown with students given just an hour notice to vacate their hostels.
The FG led with the shutting down of 47 unity schools in the north, while state governments like Niger, Kebbi, Plateau and Katsina states have followed suit.
Reacting to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Sunday, criticised the recent closure of schools by the Federal Government and some state governments, warning that such actions could inadvertently advance the objectives of terrorists.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Comrade Ini Ememobong, said: “If the schools are closed, the goal of the terrorists would have been inadvertently achieved.”
He urged the Federal Government to “develop a comprehensive plan to combat the issue, instead of resorting to a simplistic approach of closing schools in a bid to prevent further kidnappings and to score cheap political points.”
Ememobong said: “We again remind the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and the entire APC-led administration that the security of lives and property is the primary function of any government. At any time a government is unwilling, unable, or incapable of executing this primary role, such a government must either ask for help—locally or internationally—or honourably resign, if it is sincere and responsible.”
